Cowboy Truth: Cowboy Justice Association #3 (20 page)

“H
e came after me,” Ava told Kaylee. They were talking on the phone while Ava waited for Logan to pick her up for dinner.

“That’s so romantic,” breathed Kaylee. “Like at the end of
An Officer and a Gentleman
.”

“He didn’t sweep me off my feet or anything. But I was shocked when he showed up. I thought he’d be happy I gave him a way out.”

Ava had been an emotional wreck when she’d walked out of Logan’s house. Their lovemaking had been a revelation and she’d been overwhelmed as she thought about him being like that with another woman. To hear him say it had been different for him too had come as a relief. The fact that he’d said he had feelings for her was overwhelming.

“Tell me again what he said,” Kaylee begged. “Do you think he wanted to tell you he loves you?”

“Ah no,” Ava laughed. “Besides, it wasn’t what he said that was important. It was the way he said it. He was…sincere. His body language wasn’t deceptive. I mean, he came after me.”

She was still in awe that he had. After she’d gotten over the shock of seeing him standing in her kitchen, she’d been filled with opposing thoughts. Anger that he expected any different behavior, and joy that he had cared enough to make the effort to come to her.

“I still think it’s romantic. Was it good?” Kaylee giggled on the other end of the phone. For a writer of erotic romance she could be surprisingly girlish when discussing the more intimate details of their lives.

Ava rolled her eyes. “It was beyond good. They haven’t invented adjectives that would correctly describe last night. Writers would be crying in their cappuccinos with the frustration of trying to capture just how hot Logan is in the sack.”

“Why can’t I find a man like that?” Kaylee wailed. “Are there more men like that in Montana? I can be there in less than twelve hours.”

“I think I can safely say Logan Wright is one of a kind. I’m not sure this is even going to work between us.”

“You just need to set some ground rules. Don’t let him start any of that bad boy behavior. Nip it in the bud before it takes root,” Kaylee declared.

Ava chewed on her lower lip. Kaylee had a point. It might be easier to set expectations at the beginning than later. Heaven knew Ava was going to have to lay down the law more than once with a man like Logan.

“You may be right,” Ava conceded. “I just don’t know what rules. What would you do?”

“If he’s as hot as you say he is then I’d set a rule he has to give me two orgasms to his one.” Kaylee was laughing so hard Ava had to pull the phone away from her ear.

“That doesn’t sound very fair.” Although it was tempting.

“Fair, shmair. Just set the rules so he has to treat you with respect. That’s what you really want.”

Logan’s truck pulled up in the driveway. “I think I can do that. It might help us both. I don’t know much more about being in a relationship than he does. He’s here so I gotta go. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“You better! I want all the dirty details. Remember you’re having sex for both of us.” Kaylee exclaimed before hanging up.

Ava grabbed her sweater and purse and hurried out the front door. Her father was in the back yard and she wanted to be gone before he realized someone was here. She rushed to the passenger side of the truck but not before Logan got out on his side and came around to open the door for her. It was a sweet, old fashioned gesture that made her blush and she murmured her thanks as she slid inside. He’d turned on the radio and a Jason Aldean song was playing softly in the background. A single pink rose was on the seat between them.

“Is this for me?” She picked it up and breathed in its heady fragrance as he backed out of the driveway.

Glancing over briefly, he nodded his head but kept his concentration on the road. “It is. I didn’t know if you liked flowers or not. I got pink because red seemed too ordinary.”

Did that mean he didn’t think she was ordinary or that he didn’t think he was a man who did ordinary things?

The latter was certainly true and she could only hope about the former. “I like pink. It was thoughtful of you. Thank you.”

His profile was outlined in the dim light of the truck cab. “You’re welcome. It was a friend’s idea.”

“You asked a friend?” It was kind of endearing to think he had. She already liked him but this made him seem as vulnerable as she was about all this.

“I was talking to him about the case anyway.”

“Oh.” So he hadn’t called a friend just for help. That was kind of disappointing. Logan turned into the parking lot of one of the better restaurants in town. Parking the truck, he finally turned toward her.

“I hope you like steak.”

“I do.” Ava nodded, feeling suddenly nervous and shy now that she had his full attention. “I haven’t been here in years.”

Logan’s rich and throaty laugh made her warm all over. “It hasn’t changed, good girl. Not much around here does.”

By the time they’d been shown to a table and ordered their drinks and meal, Ava was starting to break out into a cold sweat. She didn’t know what to expect and Logan’s expression was frustratingly inscrutable. He was like one of those faces on Mount Rushmore. No emotion whatsoever. She wanted to kick him in the shin just to see him wince.

“So I talked to my buddy Griffin about the case today.” Logan sat back in his chair and lifted the beer glass to his lips. “He told me some very interesting things about Bill Bryson.”

Her discomfort was forgotten the minute he brought up the case. Talking about this wouldn’t be awkward in the least. “Are you going to share?”

His mouth quirked up. “It seems Bill Bryson was known to bribe a government official or two to get zoning changed for his benefit. He was also known to play dirty tricks on his competition driving them out of business.”

Ava tapped her chin. “Motives for murder.”

“Possibly. Seems extreme though. Griffin wasn’t able to get specifics so it’s hard to tell just how evil Bill was. He may simply have been about as bad as everyone else in business.”

“True. But with the wrong person even a seemingly mild provocation can become deadly. You hear about people being shot and killed over stupid things every day. Someone cut them off in traffic or they talked too loud on their cell phone. Bang. They’re dead.”

“The reason you hear about that is because it’s so rare. Most people are killed for the usual reasons.”

“Love, money, and revenge.” Murder required passion and those things inspired it.

Logan nodded in agreement. “That’s right. So which one was Bill Bryson?” Logan leaned forward. “I also found out a few things about his brother George.”

“George? What did you find out about him?” Ava had always been under the impression the Bryson family was very close. They’d certainly circled the wagons recently.

“George isn’t a part of Bryson Development. At all. Did you know that?”

Ava frowned, trying to remember anything that would have indicated that, but if anything what she’d seen pointed to the opposite. “Doesn’t George own and manage apartment buildings in this and neighboring counties? I always thought Bryson Development did that.”

“I did too. I’m guessing that’s what they wanted us to think. In actuality, George had his own company—”

“GTB Management,” Ava and Logan said simultaneously. Logan’s eyebrows shot up.

“Have you been reading my email?”

“I’ve been reading those files.” Ava shook her head, excitement coursing through her veins. She loved the feeling when she found a clue. “There were regular payments from Bryson Development to GTB Management. Twice a year – one hundred thousand. I thought it was strange because no reason was given for it. It was categorized as a miscellaneous expense.”

Logan whistled. “A big miscellaneous expense. Even pencils are categorized as office supplies. I wonder what it was for?”

“I don’t know but the payments stopped last year,” she revealed with a sense of triumph. This was the first real lead they’d found.

“Nothing this year?” Logan stroked his chin. “That is interesting. I think I need to bring George in for questioning tomorrow.”

“What should we ask him?” Ava asked eagerly, already formulating questions in her head.

“Not we, me,” Logan replied with a shake of his head. “You’re not a cop, remember? You’re an honorary deputy. I can’t have you interrogating a person of interest.”

He was right. She’d gotten ahead of herself with the excitement of a lead. “That sucks. Will you tell me what he said?”

Logan gave her one of his patented grins. “I can do you one better. How would you like to be there?”

“I can be there?” He was probably yanking her chain. Kicking him in the shin was sounding better and better.

“You can. You can watch on a monitor in my office. I can’t have you in the room with me.”

“You mean it?” She hardly dare believe it but he looked sincere.

“I mean it.” The waitress placed their plates in front of them. “You’ve taken a vow of silence so I’m not worried about you talking.”

“I wouldn’t say a thing.” Ava made an X with her finger across her chest. “Cross my heart.”

“That’s as good as a pinkie swear I guess.” Logan dug into his steak with relish. “I trust you.”

Ava felt warm with that small bit of praise. She had a feeling Logan trusted few people in his life. From what he’d told her, he had scant reason to.

They finished their dinner and Logan insisted they order a decadent chocolate cake to share for dessert. She licked at the fudge icing on her fork and sighed in sublime happiness. Somehow chocolate made a good evening even better.

“Like it?” Logan asked, his eyes twinkling. He obviously knew her answer. “They’re known for their good steaks and desserts here.”

Ava helped herself to another forkful. “I’ll second that. This is delicious.”

“Next time we’ll try the white chocolate cheesecake.”

He’d obviously been to this place before. An image of him sitting in this very restaurant eating dessert with another woman made her feel like a giant boulder was pressing on her chest. She didn’t like feeling vulnerable with him. He was a serial womanizer and she needed to make her expectations clear. Kaylee was right. It was best to head things off at the pass. If he was going to be a jerk, she needed to get out now.

Ava toyed with her fork. “I was thinking we should talk about some ground rules. You know, for this relationship we’re trying.”

“Rules?” Logan’s fork paused in midair. “What kind of rules?”

“Just a few to help us understand what the expectations are. You’ve never been in a relationship before. I’ve been in a few but I wouldn’t say they were all that great. I’m sure you have ideas of what we should do. What I should do. I’d like to hear them. I think we both should come to some agreement as to how this is going to work.”

Logan smiled and stroked his chin. “I’m not fond of rules. You’ll find I go out of my way to break them. Just because I can.”

She should have known he would say that. He wasn’t one to conform to societal norms. “If we agree to a rule then I expect you to follow it.”

“Do I get to make some too?” From the amused look on his face he wasn’t taking this too seriously.

“Of course. We both have to agree,” she said firmly.

“Fine. I’ll agree to three rules if you will too.” Logan tossed out the challenge casually as if he made rules with women every day of his life. He didn’t appear worried in the least. And that worried her. What kind of rules would he want?

“Fine.” Ava licked her lips nervously. “My rules first.” Hopefully if she set reasonable rules he would follow suit. “Rule number one. No dating or sleeping with other women.”

Logan shrugged. “We talked about not seeing anyone else. I’m okay with that. What’s rule number two?”

Ava nodded, searching her memory for things her friends might have mentioned when complaining about their boyfriends. “What about frequency of dates and phone calls?”

His eyebrows drew down. “What’s the usual?”

“Maybe…a couple of times a week?” Ava thought about some of her past relationships but they hardly seemed like a blueprint for success. “But you’re supposed to call the morning after.”

“After we have sex?” He laughed when her blush deepened. She had to fight the urge to press her hands to her hot cheeks. “There won’t be any need. We’ll be waking up in the same bed. No more running out afterward, good girl.”

The thought of waking up with Logan next to her sent a rush of heat and excitement through her body. He must have noticed as his blue eyes were a shade deeper and he reached out to capture her free hand with his own.

“It’s going to be hard. My parents aren’t the most open-minded people in the world.”

“You’re a grown woman, Ava. I’m sure you can handle them.”

She wasn’t as sure as he was, but he had a point. She was a grown woman and they needed to back off. Her mother wouldn’t be an issue. Her father was a different story. He’d lock her in a chastity belt if he had his way.

“Rule number three,” she began, trying to get her mind out of the gutter. Logan was so blatantly sexy she had a hard time concentrating on everyday matters. She actually didn’t have another rule but since he’d set the limit she felt like she needed a third one. As long as he treated her with respect, just as Kaylee had said, things would be fine.